Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

Xueyun was instructing the cooks in the small kitchen to prepare cakes and drinks when she suddenly saw the maid Xing'er running in hurriedly, shouting in a hurry, "Sister Xueyun, something happened, go and have a look."

Xueyun's heart trembled, and she hurried forward to support the panting Xing'er, "What's wrong? What happened to the girl?"

Xing'er didn't say anything more. She quickly told him how He Lanting angrily barged into Xunchun Courtyard, dismissed all the maids and servants, and went straight into Lin Xi's study. Xueyun's face changed drastically after hearing this. "Do you know why? And why did you just let your cousin break in? Was there a dead body all over the yard? No one stepped forward to stop him!"

Xing'er was so frightened by the anger in Xueyun's eyes that she took a step back. She shrank her neck and spoke timidly, "Sisters Xueliu and Xue'e are in the warehouse. Sisters Qinsang and Luzhi have also gone out on their own errands. Those maids were all sent by the Madam..."

Xing'er wanted to step forward to stop him, but she had always been timid. She finally mustered up the courage to reach out to stop He Lanting, but when she met his cold eyes, she was so scared that she dared not move. She could only watch He Lanting enter the study before she hurriedly ran over to find Xueyun.

"The most urgent thing is to look after the young lady. It's not too late to investigate these things later. Miss Xueyun, you'd better go with the little girl." Madam Zhou, who was busy in the kitchen, was Lin Xi's dowry, so naturally she was concerned about Lin Xi's safety first. Hearing that the two were still busy arguing, she hurriedly tried to persuade them.

"Forget it, I'll settle the score with you later. If anything happens to the girl, I'll skin those bastards alive." Xueyun also calmed down, lifted her skirt and walked quickly towards the study.

In the study, He Lanting had a face full of shame, and was defeated by Lin Xi's scrutinizing gaze. He spoke hesitantly, "Now everyone in the mansion is saying that Madam Chu likes you very much, and wants to marry you to her Erlang..." He didn't want to associate Lin Xi with Chu Erlang, so he stopped talking halfway.

Lin Xi sneered when he heard this, and seemed to be extremely angry, with his chest rising and falling faster. "Oh! I thought it was something else, but it turned out to be about this matter. Regardless of the fact that Chu Erlang and I are innocent and have no private feelings for each other."

He Lanting felt extremely regretful when he heard Lin Xi's cold smile. However, he also heard from her tone that she had no affection for the second son of the Chu family. He was a little excited. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Lin Xi in a harsh voice, "Even if he really wanted to marry me, it is reasonable for a man and a woman to get married. Even my aunt never said a word to me. But my cousin, who was so handsome and elegant, made a special trip to my house and scolded me!"

After Lin Xi finished speaking, her eyes showed signs of turning red again, and she subconsciously wanted to bite her lips again. Seeing this, He Lanting wished he could go back to punching himself a few times, and hurriedly reached out his hand to stop Lin Xi from hurting herself, but Lin Xi dodged by turning her head away.

He Lanting had been the center of attention since he was born, and he had never done such a thing as coaxing others. In a hurry, he lifted the hem of his robe, knelt down on one knee with a thump, and said, "It's all my fault. I will accept any punishment my cousin has for me. Please don't hurt yourself."

"If I were afraid of hurting myself, I would have died in the rebellion in Langya long ago. But it's better to die on the spot than to suffer the humiliation today." Lin Xi refused to look at her. He just had a gloomy expression and talked to himself, as if he was immersed in the bloody storm of that day.

Seeing her ugly face and her tone as if she was determined to die, He Lanting was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly said, "Cousin, you remained calm in the face of danger and personally went into battle to kill the rebels. This is a courage that many men cannot match. I was indeed talking nonsense today. You can scold me however you want, but prophecies can easily hurt yourself. I hope you can relax and don't destroy yourself."

Lin Xi closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again, as if she had finally come out of the memory of the swordplay. She fell back into the chair weakly, her eyes as bright as stars covered with a layer of mist. She glanced at He Lanting who was half-kneeling on the ground, and her voice revealed a sense of powerlessness, "Cousin, why do you have to do this? Gentlemen have always kneeled down to worship the heaven, earth, the emperor, their parents, and their teachers. How can I be worthy of your kneeling?"

He Lanting only heard her emphasize the word "gentleman" very much, as if it contained endless sarcasm. He felt ashamed and bowed deeply. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a cry of surprise, "Girl! What are you doing..."

Standing at the door of the study, Xueyun saw what was happening inside the room and felt her heart break. Her usually quiet and steady girl had tears all over her face, with traces of blood still lingering on her lips. She was curled up in a chair with a pale face, like a slender lotus that had been beaten by a sudden rain and strong wind.

The eldest son of the Duke's Mansion, who was usually gentle and as bright as the moon, knelt on the ground with an annoyed look on his face. He looked so regretful that he wanted to die to atone for his sins. Anyone who saw him knew what had just happened in the room.

Xing'er followed behind Xueyun. Seeing this, she was also shocked and her eyes widened. She opened her mouth and trembled, "This, this, this", and couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time. Xueyun glared at her and ordered sternly: "Go to the front and watch! Spread my words, no one is allowed to approach the study. If anyone is blind and wants to pry, don't blame me for reporting to my wife and having him beaten to death and sold out!"

After saying this, without even looking at Xing'er's shocked expression, she stepped into the study, slammed the door shut, walked a few steps to the desk, protected Lin Xi behind her, and glared at He Lanting with a sullen face, "What are you doing, cousin! You broke into a girl's study in broad daylight, and you still..." She really couldn't say the next words. It was obvious that her girl had been bullied. The wound on her lip was simply shocking.

He Lanting stood up the moment Xueyun entered the room. Now, seeing Xueyun's expression of shame and anger, as if she wanted to tear him into pieces, he knew that she had misunderstood him. He hurriedly wanted to explain, "Xueyun, it's not what you think..."

However, before he could finish, Xue Yun interrupted him, "Although my daughter was married before, she is now free and innocent. She is not a frivolous person who attracts bees and butterflies. Cousin, if you act like this now, you will be worthy of the late master and mistress, and you will not be afraid of humiliating the ancestors of the mansion!"

Lin Xi looked at Xue Yun who was protecting her, and her heart was moved. But when she heard that she was so angry that she spoke without thinking, she quickly pulled her sleeve and reminded her, "Xue Yun, be careful with your words."

Hearing this, Xue Yun turned around and hugged Lin Xi into her arms, her voice choking with sobs. She reached out to touch the wound on Lin Xi's mouth, but was afraid of hurting her so she had to hold back, "Miss, does it hurt? Miss, I'm sorry, it's all my fault that I didn't protect you well, so you suffered this great humiliation."

Lin Xi looked at her expression and realized that she had misunderstood. He quickly explained in a low voice: "It's not what you think. I bit myself."